State Finals Time!!!!

November 29, 2014

CLASS 8A

Stevenson 31, Homewood-Flossmoor 25
For the second week in a row, the Patriots’ title hopes came down to the final possession of the game, and for the second week in a row Stevenson’s defense stood tall when the pressure was on.

James Mahoney recovered a Homewood-Flossmoor fumble on Stevenson’s 3-yard line to seal a 31-25 victory in the Class 8A state championship.

The wonder twins, Deante and Devonte Harley-Hampton, both played well and reached the end zone in the contest, but it wasn’t enough for the Vikings (11-3). Deante finished with 17 carries for 77 yards and one score, while Devonte added 15 carries for 58 yards and touchdown.

“This game does not define our season. I’m proud of these guys and they battled until the end,” Homewood-Flossmoor coach Craig Buzea said.

Stevenson’s Jack Joseph finished with 17 carries for 91 yards and a pair of touchdown runs.

“Building Men and Women via Athletics”

CLASS 7A

Sophomore running back Richie Warfield had 22 carries for 123 yards and four touchdowns to guide the team to victory.

“I was just telling myself that one extra step could be the difference between a touchdown or a first down and all that can add up,” said Warfield, who had seven catches for 51 yards.

Senior quarterback Justin Hunniford capped off his year and final game going 18-for-26 for 184 yards. The Celtics ground game nearly mirrored the passing attack with 164 yards.

At the half, the Trojans led 14-10 until Providence seized momentum after a game-changing play by Notre Dame-bound receiver Miles Boykin.

The Celtics were backed up on their on 3-yard line when Hunniford threw 38-yard pass to Boykin (three catches, 48 yards) with 5:50 remaining in the third quarter. Warfield finished the 97-yard drive with a five-yard run to put Providence up 17-14.

“They pinned us deep in our own territory on our 3 and I knew that I had to make a play to get us out of here,” Hunniford said. “Finishing it off 97 yards really put a hurting on how motivated they were to continue. I just knew that Miles was going to be open and I put it in a spot that only he could get it.”

Nate Vejvoda, tight end who has committed to Iowa finished the game with 5 catches, 55 yards.

CLASS 6A

Nazareth 26, Lemont 7
As it was reported prior to kickoff, an unexpected illness swept through much of Narareth’s team, but that didn’t stop them from winning the Class 6A title Saturday afternoon in Champaign at Memorial Stadium.

A total of seventeen players suffered from a stomach flu Friday.

“It invaded the team,” coach Tim Racki said. “We were supposed to practice in the morning. I got a text from one kid, then another kid and it was the basically same text from each kid saying ‘I was throwing up all night and I don’t know what’s wrong and I will try and come in.’ I thought it was a joke. I was looking for cameras in my office and wondering what was going on. The team doctor came in and we got up to 17 guys throwing up with a flu bug in their stomach. I got it on the bus on the way here.”

The Roadrunners were led on the ground by senior running back Nolan Dean who rushed 39 times for 199 yards and two touchdowns. Nazareth rushed 33 consecutive times in the second half until senior quarterback Jonah Beauduy completed a 10-yard screen to Dean with 4 minutes, 8 seconds remaining in the game. The Roadrunners rushed the ball 63 times and passed six times behind a line that averages 6-foot-3, 285 pounds.

Lemont’s key performer was Flynn Nagel, who caught 6 passes for 70 yards. Their only points came on the ground in the first quarter.

The Roadrunners are undefeated (14-0) and this seems to be the best medicine available for everyone involved – 2014 State Champions!

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High School Football at its best

Homewood-Flossmoor 42, Edwardsville 35

Again, the Vikings “wonder-twin” power was activated on Saturday evening as twins Devonte and Deante Harley-Hampton carried the load leading the team into the Class 8A quarterfinals.

Richards 34, Lincoln-Way West 27

Birthday celebration was in order for senior quarterback Hasan Muhammad-Rogers as he completed 16 of 23 passes for 395 yards and five touchdowns to lead Richards past host Lincoln-Way West in a Class 7A.

“It’s the best birthday ever,” Muhammad-Rogers said. “I get to spend another week with my team.”

Geneseo 41, Rich East 16

Not enough Rocket fuel as the (Rich) East go down to Geneseo in the second round 41-16.

Brian Stewart led the way with 12 carries for 68 yards and one score. The other score was made by , followed by Tyler McGregory. The Maple Leafs remain undefeated at 11-0 for the season.

Lemont 35, Yorkville 14

Things got started with a 16-yard touchdown run by Lemont freshman Anthony Martin (21 carries for 101 yards) and they never looked back. Quarterback Ryan Dawson led the way going 14-for-20 for 172 yards and four TDs including redzone strikes to Duke-bound receiver Flynn Nagel (4 catches, 58 yards).

Friday, November 7

Providence 34, St. Rita 3

Providence wins BIG over cross-town rival St. Rita for the second time but this time it was in the playoffs.

“It’s hard to beat a team twice and they have big play guys and that’s what concerned us the most,” coach Mark Coglianese said. “That (punt return) was a big spark for us.”

Things got started early for the Celtics when Sophomore running back Richie Warfield (13 carries for 111 yards) score from 10 yards out and they NEVER looked back.

Senior quarterback Justin Hunniford (12-for-24, 224 yards, 2 TDs) played BIG also accounting for 20 of the Celtics’ points including six of those on a pair of field goals (31 and 24 yards). The remaining 14 came on a pair of TD passes. The first was a 75-yard bomb to Notre Dame-bound Miles Boykin (5 catches, 96 yards) and the other was a 4-yard TD pass to Mike Beller.

The Mustangs suffered a huge setback on their opening drive when starting quarterback Scott Proctor went down with a lower body injury and didn’t return. C.J. Weydeman (8-for-23, 42 yards) took over the quarterback duties and struggled against an unforgiving Celtics’ defense led by Jake Rost (two sacks).

“We felt confident coming in and we were doing some things they haven’t seen,” St. Rita coach Todd Kuska said. “That’s just a great team over there.”

DePaul Prep 14, St. Laurence 7

Alex Salach rushed for a touchdown and and Markavius Ross returned an interception 31 yards for a score to lead DePaul Prep (6-4). Carlos Baker caught a 17-yard touchdown pass from Romello Washington for St. Laurence (5-6).

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This is it weekend…

WEEK 9

All of the summer drills and hot, intense practices come down to this week – week 9 – the final week of Illinois High School Association (IHSA) football. And on top of that, Mother Nature provided the area with beautiful weather for football, as many teams make a strong run for a playoff spot.

Building Men and Women via Athletics…

Friday, October 24

In this game, it wasn’t the play of the offense, as the score states, it was the defense which kept the Ramblers off-balanced the entire game. The Caravan D had two takeaways, an interception by Avery Saffold and a fumble recovery by Patrick O’Shea, plus a couple of perfectly timed sacks, led by junior Foster Williams.

“They had a couple timely blitzes,” Loyola coach John Holecek said. “[Williams] coming off the edge, with their speed — he hurt us a few times.”

The Caravan got on the board right before halftime after a 39-yard pass from Anthony Thompson to Steven Wirtel, which put the ball on the one-yard line. One play later, Anthony Ries, took it in.

Ries finished the game with 10 carries for 91 yards and that one touchdown, A.J. Lewis added 18 carries for 76 yards. The game was sealed with a 33-yard field goal by Zach Mirabelli with 3:30 in the third.

“You work so hard in the offseason, coming in January at 5:30 in the morning [for] lifting,” Lewis said. “You know it’s all going to pay off.”

The Ramblers got on the board late on a two-yard run by Jack Loper, but the Caravan recovered the onside kick and ran the clock out.

This team doesn’t look like MC teams of the past but they did just enough to make other teams say, ‘I hope we don’t pull them in the first round.

Brother Rice 28, St Rita 21

The Crusaders take a share of the Catholic Blue title after defeating St Rita 28-21 Friday night.

Rice jumped out early to a 21-7 halftime lead but later in the contest including taking advantage of a fake punt, and four plays later Marcus Jones (16 carries, 66 yards, TD) scored the first touchdown on the night. Then, on the next possession, Greg Bernier, recovered a fumble by Rita and ran it in. Yup – two scores in the 19 seconds in the Catholic Blue…

They never looked back but had to turn things over to their stingy defense that stood strong stopping the Mustangs on two must-have plays.

“We knew it was going to be a dog fight. We were in a good position last week against Providence and let it go,” said senior defensive end Kevin Furlong, who had a tackle for loss and sack.

Alex Alarcon finished the game 15-for-25, 170 yards and a touchdown. St. Rita’s Tyre Lee had 24 carries, 132 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Stretch run…

WEEK 8

Illinois High School Association (IHSA) put lots of hard conference games on the schedule for week 8 as many teams are fighting to get that minimum 5 victories for a hope and prayer for a playoff berth. And as Mother Nature begins the to turn the corner, these games were hot and interesting…

Building Men and Women via Athletics…

Saturday, October 18

Mount Carmel 42, Hales 16
Caravan (4-4) get a BIG win Saturday night and still keep their eyes on another playoff run.

“Every week is a new week,” Mount Carmel coach Frank Lenti said. “It’s always going to be win or go home from here on out. We’re not making too big a deal out of it. It’s in the kids’ hands. Everybody’s all excited about, ‘what do we have to do,’ but I say we have to play well against good competition, that’s all it really comes down to.”

Friday, October 17

Homewood-Flossmoor 68, Lockport 21

Wonder twin power activated again as the Vikings win BIG against Lockport Friday night.

The Harley-Hampton brothers — Deante and Devonte – combined for the first six touchdowns in the first half of the 68-21 win. They are nicknamed for their speed: Devonte is nicknamed “Squirrel” and Deante is nicknamed “Rabbit”.

“We both ran a 4.47 40,” said Deante, who scored from 76 yards out on the Vikings first offensive play. “Great execution by the team and good blocks.”

“Once he seen the opening he pushed it,” Devonte said.

Deante finished with seven carries for 175 yard and three TDs. Devonte had the same number of carries for 46 yards and three TDs — one receiving.

With this win, the Vikings (6-2, 5-1) keep pace for the SouthWest Suburban Blue title.

Providence 45, Brother Rice 42

Talk about an offensive game where both teams put up lots of points and over 1,000 yards of offense… but in the end, the Celtics held off the Crusaders to snag a 3-point victory.

Things got started when Richie Warfield returned a 94-yard kickoff return, and from that, each team went back-and-forth throughout.

The Celtics’, Justin Hunniford, completed 22-of-34 passes for 364 yards and five touchdowns – three of those touchdown passes were a part of a first-half that saw the Celtics (7-1, 3-1) build a 28-7 lead at intermission.

As the score states, the Crusaders did not give up, they only needed just 11 minutes to turn a three-touchdown deficit into a 28-28 tie. Rice’s biggest weapon was quarterback Alex Alarcon, who finished 33-of-46 for 430 yards. Sophomore Ricky Smalling caught 11 of those passes for 207 yards and three touchdowns, covering 61, 31 and 22 yards. It was the duo’s 31-yard score with one minute remaining in the third quarter that tied the game 28-28. Alarcon rushed for scores of nine and two yards in the fourth quarter.

Hunniford converted a 27-yard field goal at 10:43 of the fourth quarter that gave Providence a 31-28 lead. This lead they would not relinquish, though Rice did score two mroe times.

Playoff run begins now….

WEEK 7

Just a few more weeks left – who’s make a stand? who’s fighting to win 5…

Building Men and Women via Athletics…

Friday, October 11

Bloom 35, Rich Central 28

Rich Central came out on Friday ready to move into a first place tie with Bloom Township in the Southland Conference. The Olympians scored twice in the first 4 minutes on their opening possessions when quarterback DeQuan Richie (20 for 41, 347 yards, 3 TD, 2 INT) tossed a pair of touchdowns. The first went to Jordan Fuqua (3 TDs) from 17 yards out. The next came a minute later to Deshon Kelly from 29 yards away.

After this, the Blazin’ Trojans scored the next 35 points on their way to a 35-28 win in Olympia Fields.

The play that turned the game around came early in the third when Kyle Pugh recovered a fumble at the Olympians’ 7-yard line. After an offside penalty and a 3-yard run by Emmanual Williams, quarterback Jordan Benavides punched it in from 9-yards out for a 28-14 lead with 5:30 left in the third.

“We never gave up on each other and we knew we would come back and make our plays,” Bloom coach Tony Palombi said. “We kept our focus today and they are on a mission.”

Williams scored the first three touchdowns on runs of 60, nine, and nine yards. He added his fourth from 29 yards out with 2:19 left in the third to give his team a 35-14 lead. The 5-5 senior finished with 193 yards on 24 carries.

“We are one and we protect each other,” Williams said. “My line blocked beautifully tonight. We have one things on our mind— one game at a time.”

Fuqua pulled the Olympians within 35-28 on a 2-yard TD run with 7:07 left in the fourth and a 5-yard TD catch with 34 seconds remaining. An onside kick was recovered by the Olympians on the ensuing kickoff but on the first play Richie threw and interception to Johnson to end the comeback bid.

“There is a lot of football left to play for us,” Rich Central coach Terrell Alexander said. “Our kids played their hearts out to the end and I respect my kids and I love them to death.”

St. Rita 55, St. Joseph 14

St. Rita running back Tyre Lee piled up 129 rushing yards and three touchdowns as host St. Rita rolled to a convincing 55-14 win over St. Joseph on Senior Night in a Catholic League crossover.

“I leave it up to my linemen. They go up there and do everything for me,” Lee said with a smile. “They work so hard for me that I’ve got to put some stats up for them. Just keeping it going running, just keep pushing.”

St. Rita improved to 6-1 overall, clinching a playoff berth for sure with the victory.

The road does not get any easier for the Mustangs, who close the season on the road at Loyola and Brother Rice with the Catholic League Blue title still very much up for grabs.

St. Joseph fell to 2-5. Armone Elem rushed 14 times for 119 yards, including a 74-yard touchdown run in the first quarter for the Chargers.

Homewood-Flossmoor 35, Bolingbrook 28

Vikings hold off the stingy Raiders 35-28 in a different way than everyone expected… through the air.

Things finalized when Jared Sharp hit Bryce Gray for two long touchdown passes in the fourth quarter. Gray’s 80-yarder to Sharp with 9:00 left gave the Vikings a 28-21 lead. But the Raiders were not done… Quincy Woods returned the kickoff 66 yards to the HF 4-yard line and Julian Huff scored from a yard out two plays later to tie the score at 28.

But just like that, Gray and Sharp hooked up again, this time for a 39-yard touchdown with 6:18 remaining for the final lead change in a wild second half.

It was sweet redemption for H-F (5-2, 4-1), which let double-digit leads slip away in losses to Stevenson and Lincoln-Way East.

“We knew we’d face adversity,” Gray said. “We started off slow. All we wanted to do was execute our game plan, and we knew if we did that, we’d win the game.”

Deante Harley-Hampton finished the game with 21 carries and 133 yards, and 1-touchdown. Twin brother, Devonte, also scored scored in during the contest

“Our kids persevered,” H-F coach Craig Buzea said. “They’re growing up. We could easily be 7-0 and the No. 1 team in the state. I think we hit some bumps in the road and we learned from it.”

It’s Homecoming week….

Definitely a spirited homecoming week for many as Mother Nature turned down the heat….

Building Men and Women via Athletics…

Saturday, September 4

Bloom 8, Crete-Monee 7

The Blazing Trojans ended the Warriors streak last season, but fell short 12-7 on Saturday afternoon.

Crete-Monee was about to score on the Bloom’s 1-yard line with two seconds remaining in the first half, when quarterback Frank Douglas rolled to his right looking for a receiver. Instead, Bloom cornerback Trenton Gilbert stepped in front of Douglas’ pass at the goal line and raced 100 yards to pay dirt as time expired for a 6-0 lead at intermission.

“It was a big play,” Gilbert said. “I saw the pass come my way and I tried to make something happen.”

As luck would have it, Bloom returned the favor on its first possession of the second half. Quarterback Jordan Benavides’ (rushed 36 times for 93 yards and completed 3 of 12 passes for 29 yards) ill-advised pass was intercepted by the Warriors’ Drew Harvey, who returned it 18 yards for a touchdown. Carlos Soto added the PAT for a 7-6 Crete-Monee lead at 9:26 of the third quarter.

And this game came down to one play… a bad snap on a Crete-Monee punt attempt that forced punter Clint Ratkovich to run out of the end zone for a safety with 7:21 left in the fourth quarter. The two points turned a 7-6 deficit into an 8-7 lead for Bloom (5-1, 2-0).

“I’ve been on the other side of those things happening,” Crete-Monee coach John Konecki said. “You see a lot of different things. We had multiple opportunities to put some points on the board.”

This was Crete-Monee’s first conference loss in nearly seven full seasons. Its previous Southland loss was 20-15 to Rich East in 2007.

Reavis 20, Argo 14

Reavis (6-0, 4-0): Calvin Jordan 16 carries-81-yards, 3 TD

Depaul Prep 47, Juarez 6

Friday, September 3

Rich Central 25, Kankakee 12

It was homecoming night for the Olympians as they were able to celebrate with a big conference win against Kankakee 25-12. The victory didn’t come easy as the Kays fought back and made things tough on each possession. They got on the board first with short run by Dyrrah Christon in the first quarter 6-0.

The Olympians answered and tied the score (6-6) in the second quarter on a nice 37-yard pass from DaQuan Richie to Dejaris Taylor. The Kays answered with a 60-yard screen pass from 6’3″ sophomore quarterback Malcolm White to Martavious Laster with 2:50 left before half (12-6). This resulted in the last score in the contest.

Home team Olympians tied the game back up at 12 with 18 seconds before half with another long pass from Richie, but this time to Jordan Fuqua, who was wide open on a blown defensive coverage.

In the second half, it was all Rich Central as they Richie and Dudley connected again on a 46 yard pass (19-12). The final score on the evening came from Mr. Jordan, who ran the ball in from 19 yards out with 52-seconds left in the contest.

Brother Rice 26, Mount Carmel 17

Alex Alarcon led the Crusaders on the Friday night win, as he ran for two touchdowns and passed for another which snapped a 10-game losing streak in the Catholic League Blue series.

“We faced some ups and downs in this game, but we stayed [together] as a family and came out with the ‘W’,” Alarcon said.

Rice jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first half until A.J. Lewis took the ensuing kickoff back 45 yards which set up his own 31-yard touchdown run. He also scored with less than 2 minutes before halftime from 16-yards out. Then Zach Mirabelli’s 22-yard field goal with 6.6 seconds remaining in the half gave the Caravan a 17-14 lead. But the Caravan never scored again in the contest as the Crusaders on the other hand scored twice.

The loss also pushed Mount Carmel (2-4, 0-3) to the brink of playoff elimination. The Caravan hasn’t missed the postseason since 1985. But they will have to win out – against Leo, Hales and Loyola – to earn an IHSA playoff berth

Homewood-Flossmoor 47, Sandburg 18

Wonder twin power activated as the Harley-Hampton twins, who combined for six rushing touchdowns and nearly 300 yards in offense in the victory Friday night.

“Our whole game plan was to finish strong,” Devonte Harley-Hampton said. “[Deante] and I have the vision. We might have started slow, but we wanted to finish strong and plan to do that the rest of the year.”

With the win H-F (4-2, 3-1) stays in the hunt for the conference title heading into next week’s showdown at Bolingbrook. Sandburg (3-3, 2-2) will have to win two of its final three games in order to qualify for the playoffs for the seventh straight season.

Richards 39, Oak Forest 14

The Bulldog’s stepped up and played a full-game and sealed a victory 39-14 Friday night. Spencer Tears scored twice on pass plays of 96 and 9 yards. Quarterback Hasan Muhammad-Rogers got the party started early when on fourth-and-inches, he ran a QB sneak which resulted in a 47-yard run and score. Muhammad-Rogers finished with 172 yards in the air.

Then there next possession, Muhammad-Rogers flipped a pass to Spencer Tears, who broke a tackle and left two defenders in his wake as he raced 96 yards.

From this, they never looked back.

“We just came out ready to play,” Muhammad-Rogers said. “We just jumped on our opponent out of the gate. You get them down early, they’re not going to be wanting to come back.”

JaRon Johnson and Troy Hadagus scored the two touchdowns for Oak Forest.

Conference Power Play week….

It’s conference time… who can use this week to improve and make a stand? Here’s our Week 5 recap…

Building Men and Women via Athletics…

Friday, September 26, 2014

Richards 36, Eisenhower 7

A new player on the multifaceted roster blossomed, Spencer Tears, Friday night as the Bulldogs win big over Eisenhower 36-7.

In the fourth, he received a hand-off, ran strong to the right, nothing was there, then he reversed course, and came all the way back left, and outran the Cardinals D for a 27-yard score. His teammates call him ‘Suspense’ as they never know what he’s going to do, shared by Hasan Muhammad-Rogers.

“Man, when they told me to switch to slot and run that reverse — everybody knows that reverse play, I love that,” Tears said. “I saw what I saw and broke it open.”

Speaking of Rogers, he finished the game going 16-for-28 for 191 yards.

“We were shooting ourselves in the foot,” Muhammad-Rogers said. “Every time we would get something going we’d have a false start, a missed block … you can’t do that. You’ve got to be even-keel, ready to go.”

The Cardinals got on the board by a two-yard run by J.D. Ballentine.

Rich East 34, Rich Central 29

East is 5-0 to start the season, this is the first time since 1997, as they defeat cross time foe Central.

The Rockets running game was in total control going hard for over 340 yards. Marcel McDonald led the way with 112 yards and a pair scores, followed by senior back, Brian Stewart, who added 105 yards on 24 carries.

“I give all the credit to the O-line,” Rich East senior running back Brian Stewart said. “They did a lot of work tonight.”

The Rockets also went airborne in the contest right before halftime when quarterback Latrell Burden threw a pass to the end zone that was tipped. Kendall Merritt came down with it for a 10-yard touchdown and a 20-14 lead at the half.

The home team, Olympians, rallied back for the lead when Dejaris Taylor ran the ball in from 4-yards out, and teammate, Jordan Fuqua successfully ran the two-point conversion.

Providence 41, St. Rita 27

Notre Dame-bound Miles Boykin finished the game with five catches for 76-yards and two touchdowns.

The Mustangs quarterback, C.J. Weydeman, had a big game passing for 236 yards and running for 69 more. Brandon Gaston caught nine passes for 155 yards and three touchdowns..

The Celtics (5-0, 2-0) can clinch a share of the conference title next Saturday at Loyola and can start thinking about improving their postseason seed with each win now that they’ve become playoff-eligible.

Marist 21, Benet 7

The RedHawks bounce back from an unusual three-game losing streak with a conference win over Benet Friday night 21-7. Junior Darshon McCullough has a fantastic game going for 13 catches, 124 yards and a touchdown.

“We knew we had to win this one,” McCullough said. “We were 1-3. They were 4-0. We needed the win. My teammates made great plays all night.”

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